__________________I have been a silent witness
to all of America's finest hours.
But my finest hour comes
when I am torn into strips and used as bandages
for my wounded comrades on the battlefield,
When I fly at half-mast to honor my soldiers,
Or when I lie in the trembling arms
of a grieving mother
at the graveside of her fallen son.

Denver, Colorado – February 15th, 2013 - Magpul Industries, an Erie, Colorado, based manufacturer of firearms accessories, announced today that it will be forced to leave the state if House Bill 1224, which would ban standard capacity magazines, becomes law. The announcement was made to Governor Hickenlooper, state legislators, members of the media, and in a full-page advertisement to appear in the Denver Post on Sunday.

Richard Fitzpatrick, Founder, President, and CEO of Magpul Industries, said that regardless of any amendments that may be worked into the bill, he will no longer be able to continue to do business in Colorado if his core product is made illegal.

“Our company could not, in good conscience, continue to manufacture our products in a state where law-abiding citizens are prohibited from purchasing and owning them. ” Fitzpatrick said. “The passage of this bill will do nothing to enhance public safety, but will force us to immediately begin taking our business to another state.”

A proponent of the bill argued that with the amendment language, the choice to stay or leave was up to Magpul. Fitzpatrick responded, "Our relationship with our customers across the country would be severely damaged if this bill passes and we stay. We've already heard word of potential boycotts if that happens. They (legislators) really need to understand that our customer base is as passionate about freedoms as we are, and staying here if this bill passes would cripple the company. Make no doubt about it...we have no choice, and would be forced to leave in order to save the business."

Magpul cited the example of the Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show, which was canceled earlier this year after the organizers announced that it would not permit a popular category of firearm, like the ones Magpul makes accessories for, in the show. Public outcry from the customer base forced exhibitors to withdraw from participation, causing the cancellation of the show, and an estimated loss of $70 million of show revenue for hotels, restaurants, merchants, and other businesses in Pennsylvania, where the show was to be held.

Magpul Industries directly employs 200 people, supports another 400 supply-chain jobs, and contributes over $85 million annually to Colorado’s economy. Doug Smith, Chief Operating Officer for Magpul, says that it is a difficult position to be in. "We could choose to stay in a state that wants our jobs and revenue, but not our products, and lose half the jobs we are fighting to save, or potentially the entire business, when our customers stop buying. Or, we can take the company and those 600 jobs out of Colorado to continue our growth and the growth of American manufacturing in a state that shares our values. This is not really a choice. It's an unfortunate and inevitable result of the actions of the Legislature if this bill passes."

Magpul was started over a decade ago by Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. Marine. It has become one of Colorado’s fastest growing businesses, successfully marketing its products to American and allied military forces, police departments, sporting goods stores, and thousands of responsible private citizens. Fitzpatrick says that the rich western culture and strong values of individual freedom and responsibility, traditionally found in Colorado, were one of the reasons the company chose to remain in the state.

“It is heartbreaking to me, my employees, and their families, to think that we will be forced to leave,” Fitzpatrick said. “But if HB13-1224 passes, we will simply have no choice.”

__________________I have been a silent witness
to all of America's finest hours.
But my finest hour comes
when I am torn into strips and used as bandages
for my wounded comrades on the battlefield,
When I fly at half-mast to honor my soldiers,
Or when I lie in the trembling arms
of a grieving mother
at the graveside of her fallen son.

As the gun control debate rages on, we’ve seen a host of gun-rights advocates standing up for the Second Amendment. In addition to citizens, the NRA, the National Sheriffs Association and countless others, a number of companies—including gun manufacturers, sporting good retailers and gunsmiths—are now taking a stand by refusing to sell to law enforcement in New York and other states with restrictive gun laws.
The message in these companies’ statements is essentially about equality—local law enforcement and government agencies should not have rights that citizens do not. Thus, if states such as New York choose to adopt restrictive gun laws and exempt law enforcement from those laws, the companies will no longer serve them as customers. Breitbart compiled a list of the statements:

LaRue Tactical
Effective today, in an effort to see that no legal mistakes are made by LaRue Tactical and/or its employees, we will apply all current State and Local Laws (as applied to civilians) to state and local law enforcement / government agencies. In other words, LaRue Tactical will limit all sales to what law-abiding citizens residing in their districts can purchase or possess.Olympic Arms
Due the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity - will no longer be served as customers.
In short, Olympic Arms will no longer be doing business with the State of New York or any governmental entity or employee of such governmental entity within the State of New York - henceforth and until such legislation is repealed, and an apology made to the good people of the State of New York and the American people. Extreme Firepower Inc, LLC
The Federal Government and several states have enacted gun control laws that restrict the public from owning and possessing certain types of firearms. Law-enforcement agencies are typically exempt from these restrictions. EFI, LLC does not recognize law-enforcement exemptions to local, state, and federal gun control laws. If a product that we manufacture is not legal for a private citizen to own in a jurisdiction, we will not sell that product to a law-enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.Templar Custom
We will not sell arms to agents of the state of New York that hold themselves to be "more equal" than their citizens.

As long as the legislators of New York think they have the power to limit the rights of their citizens, in defiance of the Constitution, we at Templar will not sell them firearms to enforce their edicts.

Templar Custom is announcing that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee will no longer be served as customers.York Arms
Based on the recent legislation in New York, we are prohibited from selling rifles and receivers to residents of New York. We have chosen to extend that prohibition to all governmental agencies associated with or located within New York. As a result we have halted sales of rifles, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, machine guns, and silencers to New York governmental agencies.Cheaper than Dirt
Recently, companies such as LaRue Tactical and Olympic Arms have announced that they will no longer sell prohibited items to government agencies and personnel in states that deny the right to own those items to civilians. It has been and will continue to be Cheaper Than Dirt’s policy to not to sell prohibited items to government agencies and/or agents in states, counties, cities, and municipalities that have enacted restrictive gun control laws against their citizens. We support and encourage other companies that share in this policy.

Of course, there are some big names missing—Smith & Wesson, Glock and Sig Sauer, which as The Blaze points out, are the “trio of manufacturers recommended by the NYPD for use by their officers.” Gun rights groups are urging their supporters to pressure these companies into joining the others in protest.
While New York is the main focus in many of these statements, gun rights advocates should also keep an eye on what’s happening in New Jersey. The Democratic-led New Jersey Legislature took up a package of 20 extreme gun-control bills this week and a floor vote will be held by the full Assembly on February 21. It is reassuring, however, that Gov. Christie has the ability to veto any measures that do pass.

This movement needs to catch fire.

__________________Cheers,
GregMSgt, USAF, RetiredNRA Life MemberThe hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see. - Ayn Rand

denver, colorado &ndash; february 15th, 2013 - magpul industries, an erie, colorado, based manufacturer of firearms accessories, announced today that it will be forced to leave the state if house bill 1224, which would ban standard capacity magazines, becomes law. The announcement was made to governor hickenlooper, state legislators, members of the media, and in a full-page advertisement to appear in the denver post on sunday.

Richard fitzpatrick, founder, president, and ceo of magpul industries, said that regardless of any amendments that may be worked into the bill, he will no longer be able to continue to do business in colorado if his core product is made illegal.

&ldquo;our company could not, in good conscience, continue to manufacture our products in a state where law-abiding citizens are prohibited from purchasing and owning them. &rdquo; fitzpatrick said. &ldquo;the passage of this bill will do nothing to enhance public safety, but will force us to immediately begin taking our business to another state.&rdquo;

a proponent of the bill argued that with the amendment language, the choice to stay or leave was up to magpul. Fitzpatrick responded, "our relationship with our customers across the country would be severely damaged if this bill passes and we stay. We've already heard word of potential boycotts if that happens. They (legislators) really need to understand that our customer base is as passionate about freedoms as we are, and staying here if this bill passes would cripple the company. Make no doubt about it...we have no choice, and would be forced to leave in order to save the business."

magpul cited the example of the eastern sports and outdoors show, which was canceled earlier this year after the organizers announced that it would not permit a popular category of firearm, like the ones magpul makes accessories for, in the show. Public outcry from the customer base forced exhibitors to withdraw from participation, causing the cancellation of the show, and an estimated loss of $70 million of show revenue for hotels, restaurants, merchants, and other businesses in pennsylvania, where the show was to be held.

Magpul industries directly employs 200 people, supports another 400 supply-chain jobs, and contributes over $85 million annually to colorado&rsquo;s economy. Doug smith, chief operating officer for magpul, says that it is a difficult position to be in. "we could choose to stay in a state that wants our jobs and revenue, but not our products, and lose half the jobs we are fighting to save, or potentially the entire business, when our customers stop buying. Or, we can take the company and those 600 jobs out of colorado to continue our growth and the growth of american manufacturing in a state that shares our values. This is not really a choice. It's an unfortunate and inevitable result of the actions of the legislature if this bill passes."

magpul was started over a decade ago by fitzpatrick, a former u.s. Marine. It has become one of colorado&rsquo;s fastest growing businesses, successfully marketing its products to american and allied military forces, police departments, sporting goods stores, and thousands of responsible private citizens. Fitzpatrick says that the rich western culture and strong values of individual freedom and responsibility, traditionally found in colorado, were one of the reasons the company chose to remain in the state.

&ldquo;it is heartbreaking to me, my employees, and their families, to think that we will be forced to leave,&rdquo; fitzpatrick said. &ldquo;but if hb13-1224 passes, we will simply have no choice.&rdquo;

I think this is great!!! Why should any manufacturer of any style firearm or firearm accessory still offer sales to a state or government body, who restricts or bans the same sales to law abiding citizens that reside in that same state?? That is the whole point of the 2nd amendment to allow citizens to bare arms equal to our own gov and military! I hope more manufacturers follow suit with Olympic Arms, that would be a great leverage against the anti's in this fight for our constitutional right!